HCI for the real world

HCI as a field comfortably and unquestionably links itself with the corporate world. What does this mean in terms of an ethics of problem choice, meaning the considerations that influence what types of design projects HCI researchers consider as important? Using the work of the industrial designer Victor Papanek, I foreground the agency of the designer. By undertaking a close reading of a recent publication of a major corporate research lab, I examine what important social and political aspects are missing from their vision of the future. I end by examining the work of the design team Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, describing how HCI can be involved in the formation of new forms of subjectivity that are not subservient to a market-based ideology. Keywords Design, designer agency, ethics, responsibility, critical design, reflective design, subjectivity ACM Classification Keywords K.4.1 Public Policy Issues: Ethics H.5.m Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous ...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Nicholas Knouf
• Keywords: CHI 2009, Human Computer Interaction, Industrial Designer Victor, Projects Hci Researchers, Subjectivity Acm Classification